Italians, Reality TV and Self-Perpetuated Misogyny

Sigh. I watched this here newfangled Jersey Shore so I could catch up on my popular culture references. I actually don’t think it’s bad for Italians, like most people. If you put any group of young people with the same heritage in a house and let them drink all night while filming, said uniting heritage would complain, too. Reality TV is the problem, not Guidos.

I think a huge problem is actually how all the people on the show treat women. Namely, how Angelina treats women. Every girl who comes to the house is a whore or a slut to her as long as they don’t live in the house. Yet she makes out with a guy while away from her boyfriend. And then when Sammi makes out with two different guys in the house, she takes Sammi’s side. The point I’m trying to make is not that Angelina is a hypocrite, but that I find it disappointing that there isn’t a woman in New Jersey who can be attracted or attractive to men without being called a whore.

Well, I’ve seen this outside of New Jersey, too, but I think I find it most disturbing in this show because it’s just such a high concentration of (self-described) haters and sluts. And I think that it’s just the tip of the iceberg–for some reason, women seem to stereotype women far more aggressively than men; I don’t care who you dated as long as you want to be with me and don’t give me the clap. It seems to be the same with any subcategory, though: I’ve heard black people say some of the most racist things about other black people (I don’t know why Trinidadians seem to hate Jamaicans so much, either).

But then again, it’s not all girl-on-girl crime. That Mike is terrible. The second Sammi makes out with Ronnie, he’s yelling at her, flicking her off and provoking her. Listen here, Mike, “The Situation;” you don’t get women back by yelling at them. Besides, you weren’t even dating the girl. You also made out with a bunch of other chicks while trying to court her, so I find your double standards a little weak. Pulling other women doesn’t seem to be a problem for you, so if I was you, I’d stick with that. Sammi’s not going to make the greatest girlfriend if you’re getting into a fight with her all the time about how she’s making out with Ronnie.